THE government will undertake a three-year study on sardines in Samar area after noting that Samar seas have been drawing sardines catchers as a result of planned annual fishing moratorium in Sulu Sea.
In a copy of a management plan obtained by Leyte Samar Daily Express, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) said the project will need P1.47 million from 2012 to 2014.
"Sardines resource is abundant in Northern Samar and Samar. We need to design sustainable capture fisheries development strategies in the implementation of appropriate management plan. This can be done through collection of fisheries data in the area," said BFAR Regional Director Juan Albaladejo.
Initial reports reaching the BFAR regional office revealed that during harvest season, up to 3,000 fishing boats from different parts of the country operate in the area.
Sardines catching have been concentrated in San Bernardino Strait, which separates Samar from Luzon.
The fisheries bureau is also coordinating with their counterparts in Bicol region in undertaking a study.
"That's the new area for sardines. Harvest season in the area is longer. It starts on July and ends on October. We want to protect this area for sustainable fishing," Albaladejo said.
The BFAR is also lobbying to put up ice plant in San Vicente, Northern Samar for local small-scale sardine catchers to address high volume of spoilage.
"We have been observing that more catchers have been coming to San Bernardino Strait in the past five years. Regulations imposed in Sulu Sea have prompted processors to find alternative areas," Albaladejo said.
BFAR earlier announced the implementation of an annual 90-day fishing ban in the Sulu Sea to recover from overfishing. The regional office in Tacloban City noted that fishing fleets in the region have surpassed the optimum catch rate for sardines, threatening fish stocks in that sea.
The study in Samar sea will include conduct of onboard fishing observation on major fishing gears to determine seasonality, maturity stages, length frequency; data gathering on municipal and commercial capture fisheries and other fishery related industries such as marketing of fish, processing, estimate population of fishers, fish workers, processors, and operators.
The government will determine the actual number of fishing boats operating within Samar and Northern Samar for both municipal and commercial sectors.
They will also identify the types of fishing gears operating in the area; classify the composition, distribution, and abundance of major species caught within the specified areas; and integrate results of assessment to the Sardine Management Plan. (Leyte Samar Daily Express)
No comments:
Post a Comment